Nov 5, 2018

2000 N.L. Champion Mets Role Player: Bubba Trammell (2000)

Thomas Bubba Trammell was born on November 6, 1971 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The six foot three, right hand hitting outfielder attended the University of Tennessee. He was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 1992 but did not sign. He was then drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1994 and did sign. He showed a lot of power in the minor leagues, hitting 27 HRs at AA Jacksonville in 1996 getting promoted to AAA Toledo where he hit six more HRs to end his year. The following year he hit 28 HRs with 75 RBIs including a big four HR game for the AAA Toledo Mud Hens.
Trammell made his MLB debut in the opening week of the 1997 season with Detroit & hit four HRs in the month of April. He was hitting .238 in May when he was sent back to AAA returning as September call up. That November he was drafted by the newly formed Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 22nd round of the expansion draft. On March 31st, 1998 he made a pinch hit appearance in the first game of Tampa’s history, vs his old Tiger team mates. By mid April he was batting just .176 & was sent back down to the minors. That season at AAA Durham he hit .290 with 16 HRs in 57 games, returning to the Rays that July. He hit 12 HRs with 35 RBIs & a .286 average in 59 games. In 1999 he played in 82 games hitting a solid .290 with 14 HRs with 19 doubles & 39 RBIs.
At the 2000 trade deadline he was hitting .275 with 7 HRs (189 at bats) when Tampa sent him to the New York Mets. He came to New York along with Rick White in exchange for Jason Tyner and Paul Wilson. Trammell made his Mets debut at Shea Stadium on July 30th, 2000 in a game against the Cincinnati Reds. He got the start in left field & hit a three run HR, in his first Mets at bat. This lead to a curtain call & more importantly to the Mets 4-2 win. Trammell would hit two more HRs for the 2000 NL Champion Mets, the next one came in a 9-6 win over the Dodgers in Los Angeles. On September 3rd, he hit a two run shot off the Cards, Dave Veres in St. Louis, and drove in all three Mets runs although they took a 4-3 loss. In 56 at bats in 36 games with the Mets he hit .232 with three HRs, two doubles and 13 RBIs posting a .345 on base %. Trammell played as a pinch hitter, and reserve outfielder for Bobby Valentine getting into his first post season with the Mets.
Post Season:2000 NLCS In the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals he went 0-3 striking out twice in three pinch hit at bats. Although Trammel’s time was very brief in New York, he must be recognized for having some big World Series hits in a Met uniform. 2000 World Series: In the World Series he saw action in four of the five Subway Series games. He would drive in three runs in just five at bats. He was tied for second with team mate Jay Payton ( and two AL New York players) behind Mike Piazza with the most RBIs in the Series.

In Game #1 Trammell came to bat as a pinch hitter in the 7th inning with the Mets down 2-0. He singled to left field off Andy Pettite scoring Benny Agbayani & Jay Payton with the tying runs. He was then was left stranded on third base when Mike Piazza flew out to deep center, just missing a HR. In Game #3 at Shea Stadium, he came to bat as a pinch hitter in the 8th inning after Benny Agbayani doubled to put the Mets ahead 3-2. Trammell hit a sac fly scoring Joe McEwing who had come in to pinch run for Agbayabi. The RBI was an insurance run in the Mets 4-2 victory.That December the Mets traded Trammell to the San Diego Padres for pitcher Donnie Wall who would go 0-4 in New York. The trade was another bad move by GM Steve Phillips after the Mets pennant season.Trammell went on to hit 25 HRs with 20 doubles 92 RBIs & bat .261 batting with San Diego in 2001. He hit 17 more HRs the next year while driving in 56 runs, although his average fell to .243.
Personal Issues: The next year his mother & sister were both diagnosed with cancer. At around the same time, his great uncle & great grand father were also hospitalized. His marriage to wife Melissa with whom he has three children, also fell apart & he went through a divorce. Trammell soon began to suffer with a bout of depression that would end up help finishing off his playing career early. In 2005 he played 22 games with the AL New York team hitting .279 & then did not play pro ball at all in 2006 due to health, as well as personal issues. After recovering from his depression he returned for one more season in the minor leagues in 2007. He did not make it back to the big leagues. In his seven year career, Trammell was a lifetime .261 hitter, with 469 hits 82 HRs, 96 doubles, 7 triples & 285 RBIs with a .339 on base % in 584 games.